doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Andy's Custom Shop

You don't think your gun is a good enough deposit ?

A lot of good gunsmiths do not require a deposit, as they have the firearm. You have to pay for it to retrieve it. Just like when the dealer works on my truck or auto. Could go on nameing bussinesses that operate that way.

I could see a deposit if the work cost more than the gun was worth.

Hate to say it but it sounds like Andy did a little pre-meditating.

The first time I dealt with a well known engraver, he gave me the following advice. "Don't prepay for work to be done by any artist. Work that is already paid for may sit on the shelf, while work that gets paid for when completed will get completed." Makes sense to me. I've often thought our system would work better if the unemployed would receive a percentage of their benefits while searching for a new job, and the remainder when they get hired.

No more dumb Polak jokes, eh?

I speak only for myself. I don't accept deposits with gun until I start engraving the piece. And, deposits are only asked for large commissions while I usually do the smaller jobs without deposits and advise client when completed. Even smaller jobs are sometimes not even charged for if client agrees to pay for shipping. Not all fulltimers in this industry are out to stick it to their clients by asking for deposits with acceptance of piece. This is the way I have run my business for 49 years with no problem. FWIW, ken

A few years back I had an upper receiver for a Colt AR 15 customized. New heavy target/varmit barrel, free floated handgards, basically everything you could do and keep configuration close to original. The gunsmith, one of the better AR 15 gunsmiths and a nationally ranked HP shooter did the work, and sent the completed project to me before wanting payment. He wanted to make sure it was ok. I have learned since that he requires payment before delivery so he must have been burned or had a few problems.

Jeff is right. Guys can get burned and work on a Model 21 can mount up fast. You spend a week on a guy's gun and then it sits on a shelf because he doesn't have the money to pay for the job- that's a week you could have been working on someone else's gun. Just having the gun and holding it doesn't mean much. How long do you wait before you sell it to get your money? Or you can take it back apart and send it back to him the way he sent it to you after you've spent all that time on it. I can see where someone would want a deposit on a gun. Every place I have seen that sell guns on time make you put so much of a deposit down. What are you going to say when you can't pay off the gun and it has sat there on the shelf not being sold?

We had one guy on this board a few years ago- about five people wanted a gun that was up for bid on one of the gun sites. Myself included. But because this guy got the bid, he had to be the one to get the gun. The seller went through four or five bad credit cards from this goof ball and we all waited two weeks while this clown tried to buy this gun he couldn't afford. The seller finally got so perturbed he refused to sell the gun to anyone. I offered to pay for the gun with a postal money order or cashier's check before he sent the gun. But by then he was too ticked off. It's like the saying goes- If you can't run with the big dogs, then stay on the porch.

Jimmy did you miss the part where the big dOg ran off with alot of guys guns.